Chapter 2

• 1. Foundations of Individual Behavior 2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved.

2. Chapter Learning Objectives

• After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

• • Contrast the two types of ability.

• • Define intellectual ability and demonstrate its relevance to OB.

• • Identify the key biographical characteristics and describe how they are relevant to OB.

• • Define learning and outline the principles of the three major theories of learning.

• • Define shaping, and show how it can be used in OB.

• • Show how culture affects our understanding of intellectual abilities, biographical characteristics, and learning.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 3. Ability

• An individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.

• Made up of two sets of factors:

• • Intellectual Abilities

• • • The abilities needed to perform mental activities.

• • • General Mental Ability (GMA) isa measure of overall intelligence.

• • • Wonderlic Personnel Test: a quick measure of intelligence for recruitment screening.

• • • No correlation between intelligence and job satisfaction.

• • Physical Abilities

• • • The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar characteristics.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 4. Dimensions of Intellectual Ability E X H I B I T2 12- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 5. Nine Basic Physical Abilities

• Strength Factors

• • Dynamic strength

• • Trunk strength

• • Static strength

• • Explosive strength

• Flexibility Factors

• • Extent flexibility

• • Dynamic flexibility

• Other Factors

• • Body coordination

• • Balance

• • Stamina

E X H I B I T2 2 2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 6. Biographical Characteristics

• Objective and easily obtained personal characteristics.

• Age

• • Older workers bring experience, judgment, a strong work ethic, and commitment to quality.

• Gender

• • Few differences between men and women that affect job performance.

• Race(the biological heritage used to identify oneself)

• • Contentious issue: differences exist, but could be more culture-based than race-based.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 7. Other Biographical Characteristics

• Tenure

• • People with job tenure (seniority at a job) are more productive, absent less frequently, have lower turnover, and are more satisfied.

• Religion

• • Islam is especially problematic in the workplace in this post-9/11 world.

• Sexual Orientation

• • Federal law does not protect against discrimination (but state or local laws may).

• • Domestic partner benefits are important considerations.

• Gender Identity

• • Relatively new issue transgendered employees.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 8. Learning

• Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience

• Learning components:

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 9. Theories of Learning

• Classical Conditioning

• • A type of conditioning in which an individual responds to some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce such a response.

• Operant Conditioning

• • A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.

• Social-Learning Theory

• • People can learn through observation and direct experience.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 10. Classical Conditioning

• Pavlovs Dog Drool

• Key Concepts:

• • Unconditioned stimulus

• • • A naturally occurring phenomenon.

• • Unconditioned response

• • • The naturally occurring response to a natural stimulus.

• • Conditioned stimulus

• • • An artificial stimulus introduced into the situation.

• • Conditioned response

• • • The response to the artificial stimulus.

• This is a passive form of learning.It is reflexive and not voluntary not the best theory for OB learning.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 11. Operant Conditioning

• B. F. Skinners concept ofBehaviorism :behavior follows stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner .

• Key Concepts:

• • Conditioned behavior: voluntary behavior that is learned, not reflexive.

• • Reinforcement: the consequences of behavior which can increase or decrease the likelihood of behavior repetition.

• • Pleasing consequences increase likelihood of repetition.

• • Rewards are most effective immediately after performance.

• • Unrewarded/punished behavior is unlikely to be repeated.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 12. Social-Learning Theory

• Based on the idea that people can also learnindirectly : by observation, reading, or just hearing about someone elses a models experiences .

• Key Concepts:

• • Attentional processes

• • • Must recognize and pay attention to critical features to learn.

• • Retention processes

• • • Models actions must be remembered to be learned.

• • Motor reproduction processes

• • • Watching the models behavior must be converted to doing.

• • Reinforcement processes

• • • Positive incentives motivatelearners.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 13. Shaping: A Managerial Tool

• Systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves an individual closer to the desired response.

• Four Methods of Shaping Behavior:

• • Positive reinforcement

• • • Providing a reward for a desired behavior (learning)

• • Negative reinforcement

• • • Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior occurs (learning)

• • Punishment

• • • Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior (unlearning)

• • Extinction

• • • Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation (unlearning)

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 14. Schedules of Reinforcement: A Critical Issue

• Two Major Types:

• • Continuous Reinforcement

• • • A desired behavior is reinforced each time it is demonstrated

• • Intermittent Reinforcement

• • • A desired behavior is reinforced often enough to make the behavior worth repeating but not every time it is demonstrated

• • • Multiple frequencies

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 15. Types of Intermittent Reinforcement

• Ratio

• • Depends on the number of responses made.

• Interval

• • Depends on the time between reinforcements.

• Fixed

• • Rewards are spaced at uniform time intervals or after a set number of responses.

• Variable

• • Rewards that are unpredictable or that vary relative to the behavior.

2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 16. Schedules of Reinforcement E X H I B I T2 32- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. Fixed-rat